


The Elemental's Curse

by myunhealthyaddiction



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:35:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23627806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myunhealthyaddiction/pseuds/myunhealthyaddiction
Summary: Elementals spirits all around the world are turning up dead, and no one can figure out who (or what) is killing them. The Guardians put themselves on the case, fearing for their youngest, elemental winter spirit Jack Frost. Will they be able to figure it out before Jack's life is taken as well?
Comments: 4
Kudos: 123





	1. Hiver

Small, delicate hands moved through the air gracefully, and the water from the nearby river swayed in correspondence. Standing on the edge of the river was an elemental water spirit, Naida. Her sea green dress gently swayed back and forth in the gentle breeze, and her little toes curled into the soft dirt as she concentrated. Her breathing was deep and steady; her eyes were closed tightly.

One snap of the twig and her eyelids shot open. The sea blue pupils looked around her as her hands froze and the water fell back into its natural pattern. The breeze had stopped, as if sensing something wasn't right; it only made her more on edge. She dipped one foot behind her into the river and raised her hands defensively.

A dark chuckle was the last thing she heard before everything went black.

* * *

The Groundhog was not particularly happy about having to standing outside in a outrageous blizzard that was engulfing the workshop he stood in front of. He was sure it was Jack Frost messing with him; he swore he could hear the brat's laughter in the wind. What was worse was that he wasn't even allowed inside until the owner of the grand palace approved an audience with him. Until then, the yetis would just keep on standing there with their arms crossed, glaring.

The door finally opened and the head yeti ordered the others to let Groundhog in.

"Finally," Groundhog muttered before stepping inside and wiping his practically frozen paws on the plush entrance rug. He was given a large mug of hot chocolate and led throughout the workshop until they reached a large wooden door with a fancy 'N' inscribed on it. The yeti nodded to Groundhog, then walked off to return to his duties. Groundhog stood there for a moment, admiring the scenery around him. He'd never actually been here in the hundreds of years that he'd been a spirit.

Finally, he reached out and knock on the door.

"Come in!" a Russian accent boomed from the other side.

Groundhog carefully opened the door and ducked just in time to have a winged train zoom past his head and down the hallway, little puffs of smoke billowing from its engine.

"Dingle!" An elf stood to attention. "Catch that train!"

Dingle ran around Groundhog's feet and wobbled down the hallway after the train, the bell on its hat jingling as it went. Groundhog watched in amusement for a moment before he heard large footsteps coming his way and turned back towards the other occupant of the room.

"Long time no see, comrade," the large Russian man smiled, holding a large plate of freshly baked Christmas cookies. "Please, join me. Have cookie."

"I'll pass, North," Groundhog politely declined. He never imagined the leader of the Guardians of Childhood to be so … laid-back for someone who looked so intimidating. "I'm actually here to report a concern."

"I'm sorry," North sighing, turning back towards his desk. "But I cannot control what Jack does twenty-four seven. I am not father and he is free to do as he pleases."

"What?" Groundhog replied. "No, North, this isn't about Jack." He paused. "Ok, maybe it is. It's about the elementals as a whole."

"Isn't that something for Mother Nature?" North cocked an eyebrow in curiosity as he sat behind his desk, motioning for Groundhog to sit as well.

"She's never in one place for long," Groundhog retorted, as if completely obvious. "She's too hard to track down. Besides, I wanted you to deliver the message to MiM. Maybe he can figure out what's going on."

North sighed and leaned back in his chair, motioning for Groundhog to begin as he began to gulp down more cookies.

"Now, normally I don't pay attention to elementals," Groundhog began. "But some animals are starting to avoid certain places in the world. At first, I just thought it was overly-excited hunters. Then, I started to hear the rumors. I didn't believe them until yesterday."

"What kind of rumors?" North asked.

"Leprechaun claimed he found one of the air spirits, Anil, in the Sahara," Groundhog explained. "The boy was _dead_ , North. Then Cupid found a fire spirit, a girl named Topaz, lying in the Ozark Mountains in Missouri. She was dead as well." Groundhog paused and took a deep, steady breath to keep his voice from breaking. "And yesterday, I found a water spirit by a river in Asia, sweet little Naida. She had been _burned_ to death, North." He locked his eyes with the other spirit, who was now starting to sit straighter. "We think someone is trying to deliberately kill off the elementals. And who knows when they'll start targeting the four seasonal children."

The color instantly drained from North's face. Jack Frost, the newest and youngest Guardian, was the seasonal spirit of winter. As far as North knew, he was the only cross-spirit to ever be created: a Guardian by MiM, but an elemental by Mother Nature. His spiritual parents was what made him so powerful and in the end, the greatest asset to Pitch's defeat last year.

North stood up and grabbed his swords from their resting stand, rushing towards the Globe Room. Groundhog abandoned his mug and quickly followed, desperately trying to keep up without tripping over the little elves that seemed to appear from every which way. Once they reached the largest room of the workshop, North grabbed a lever and pushed down, sending the Northern Lights out into the sky.

"Oh," Groundhog commented in realization. "I always wondered what magic conjured the Northern Lights."

"They're a call," North simply explained.

"To what?" Groundhog inquired.

"The other Guardians," North answered, watching as the moon began to glow, showing that he saw the lights and was ready for whatever North was concerned about. "They're on their way."


	2. Vetur

Jack Frost peeked out from around the tree trunk he was hiding behind. He gripped his staff tightly, frantically searching the area around him. His heart was pounding and his breathing was a little heavy from being out of breath. He couldn't see any impending doom, so he cautiously stepped out.

"Attack!"

Jack was pummeled with snowballs almost instantly, gasping out a dramatic "No!" before falling to the ground, letting his staff land beside him in the white fluff of his creation. The children laughed and ran over to him. He grunted as each child fell to land on him, and they all smiled wide.

"You're funny, Jack!" one of the girls stated.

Jack thought back to his sister, back when he was alive, and how she'd always tell him how funny he was. It made sense; after all, fun was the core of what made him a Guardian of Childhood.

He looked over the group of children: Cupcake, Jamie, Sophie, Claude, Caleb, Pippa, and Monty. He carefully wiggled himself out from underneath them, careful to not accidentally hit or kick any of them before grabbing his staff and hauling himself to his feet. The children did the same, cheering over their victory, to which Jack smiled and simply rolled his eyes.

That was when his eyes caught sight of the Northern Lights stretching across the sky. He froze - no pun intended - and felt a slight amount of panic rising in his chest. The last time he saw the Northern Lights was a year ago, right before he was recruited as a Guardian of Childhood. That was when a dark spirit, Pitch Black the Boogeyman, had unleashed his gaining power and tried to destroy the Guardians and all of the good belief of the world.

"I have to go, you guys," he quickly said.

"Aww," all of the children groaned.

"Do you really have to?" Jamie asked sadly.

"Unfortunately, yes. Guardian duties call." Jack knelt down to look Jamie in the eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder. "But when I come back, you guys will have a snow day fit for a king!"

"Yay!" the children hollered in excitement before waving goodbye to Jack and running off. Jamie stayed back and watched Jack wave in response before shooting off into the air, following the stream of colorful lights towards the Guardian headquarters.

Jack tried to think of if he'd seen anything out of the ordinary. Besides the fact that most of the other elementals hadn't come to harass him in the while - his sister Daisy had even _checked up_ on him - nothing was new. He finally made it to the North Pole and mentally thanked Wind for the ride before letting it drop him through an open window straight into the Globe Room. As usual, the rest of the Guardians had already beat him there. But Jack stopped short seeing a new being added to the group.

"What is _he_ doing here?"

The other four Guardians were surprised by Jack. His eyes were narrowed and he sounded disgusted, angered. He was glaring straight at Groundhog, gripping his staff so tightly his pale skin seemed to go even lighter.

"Jack," North carefully began. "Groundhog is reason I call meeting."

"Whatever he's blaming on me, I didn't do it!" Jack retorted.

"I didn't blame you for anything, you annoying pest!" Groundhog snapped. Jack's eyes almost instantly flashed with hurt. "I might've actually saved your pathetic life! You should be grateful!"

"That's enough," Bunny growled, grabbing Groundhog's shoulder. "You already told North everything you know. I'll escort you out."

Groundhog glared at Jack before he willingly left the room with Bunny. Jack loosened his grip on his staff, the normal color of his skin quickly returning. Tooth and Sandy exchanged frowns; had everyone been this awful to Jack? Had _they_ been that awful to Jack?

North quickly led Jack over to one of the velvet red chairs and offered him milk and cookies. He gladly accepted, ignoring the huff that came from Tooth. Bunny came back a few minutes later and North explained everything to the Guardians that Groundhog had relayed to him.

"When I asked Manny," North sighed. "He knew nothing. Said he'd look and tell us what he found later."

"Oh, it all makes sense now!" Jack realized. "I normally gather with my three siblings this time of year to plan the next year of seasons. But none of them have come to get me like usual."

"You mean they're missing?" Tooth asked.

"I don't know," Jack shrugged. "If they're hiding, they're probably at Mother's castle."

"Who?" Bunny questioned.

Jack raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Seraphina Pitchiner? Humans call her Mother Nature? Us elementals call her Mother? Come on, surely you know of Mother Nature."

"We do," North nodded. "But you've never spoken of her before, so we didn't know if you accepted her."

"Of course I do," Jack replied, now shocked. "I've just always preferred to be on my own, so I never hung around the palace much; I normally avoided her because she always had a lecture ready. My siblings don't really care for me, either. Except Daisy, maybe, but she likes befriending everyone."

"Pompous brat she is," Bunny muttered, though the others heard him.

"But it doesn't matter," Jack added, trying to ease the tension. Then his eyes widened. "Wait a minute! Of course! Mother will be looking into what is killing her elementals! Maybe she's figured it out?"

"Blimey," Bunny groaned. "Now we gotta visit the sheila?"

Jack shot Bunny a nasty glare, who instantly shut up in response.

"Of course!" North clapped enthusiastically. "Is great idea, Jack! We leave in one hour!"


	3. Inverno

Mother Nature was … an interesting spirit, to say the least. Not many spirits got to see her personally except her four most powerful children, the seasonal elementals. But of her run-ins with other spirits were just not well-timed, which is why she hardly left her palace.

To the outside world of spirits, she appeared to be cold-hearted, strict, and short-tempered. Only a handful of spirits knew her true side: Guardian of Childhood Sanderson Mansnoozie, Guardian of Childhood Toothiana, and her children.

Three of her children - Spring spirit Daisy Thornstone, Fall spirit Alex Redleaf, and Summer spirit Chris Sunbeam - walked into the Library of Ancient Magic that Seraphina was currently nestled in, studying away. After visiting the murder scenes, she sensed a dark, ancient form of magic she hadn't seen used in a long while. Now she was busying herself trying to figure out exactly what magic was being used to kill her children.

"Permission to speak, Mum?" Daisy asked.

"Permission granted, love," Seraphina responded, putting away another book.

"You have visitors, Mum," Daisy explained. "The Guardians of Childhood." Seraphina turned to her daughter in shock. "We asked them to wait for your permission to enter the treehouse."

"Yes, go let them in," she quickly ordered.

Daisy swiftly rushed from the room, but Alex and Chris remained.

"Mum," Alex spoke up, waiting for her nod to continue. "Am I correct in stating that Jack is officially a Guardian of Childhood?"

"Yes, my son," Seraphina answered, turning to the two boys as she clutched a new book. "You should be proud. Your baby brother has become one of the Greats."

"But we were never kind to him, Mum," Chris pointed out. "He probably doesn't want anything to do with us."

"You'd be surprised, Chris," Seraphina assured him as she set her book on a nearby table before opening it and skimming through the table of contents. "Jack is a creature of forgiveness and second chances. Even after the Guardians ignored him and hurt him for so long, he found it in his heart to let them have another chance. And now he has a close group of comrades, a second family, if you will."

"Mum?"

Chris and Alex moved aside to see Daisy gripping Jack's hand as she led him into the room. Seraphina smiled seeing her youngest son still sporting his three-hundred-and-some-year-old trousers with his signature blue hoodie. His staff was gripped tightly in his right hand. And still no shoes. The other Guardians came in quickly after them.

"Seraphina," Tooth acknowledged.

"Toothiana," Seraphina greeted. "Sanderson. Nicholas." She looked at Bunny and smirked. "Aster."

"My name is Bunny," he lowly growled.

Seraphina simply shrugged and turned towards Jack, holding her arms out. "Come, I haven't seen you in ages. I want a hug."

Jack stood in shock for a moment before Daisy nudged him back into reality. He looked at Seraphina for a moment in more thought before handing his staff to Daisy - who held it like a baby - and wrapped his arms around Seraphina. She tightly hugged his middle, her face leaning against his chest. Sometimes she hated being short.

"I made a mistake," Seraphina confessed. "Acting like I didn't care."

"Mum, it's ok," Jack promised, patting her back. She pulled away and frowned.

"No, it isn't," she countered. "You were left out there, practically alone for three-hundred years. No child should go through that. And I thought I was protecting you, which makes it worse. I was afraid that if Pitch realized you were a child of both MiM and me, he would see you as extremely valuable and come after you." She sighed. "But I guess it didn't matter in the end, did it?"

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"I have connections with the animals in Antarctica, Jack," Seraphina narrowed her eyes. "I know what happened that Easter."

Jack looked down at his feet, suddenly nervous. He hadn't exactly told the other Guardians just what had happened during that time he disappeared, just that Baby Tooth had helped him open his teeth and unlock his memories. They hadn't even questioned how she had gotten back to him after he accidentally left her in Pitch's lair.

Seraphina seemed to get the hint and backed off. Daisy held out Jack's staff, which he quickly took back.

"Mother Nature, do I have permission to speak?" North requested, stepping forward and clasping a hand on Jack's shoulder. The boy smiled at the gesture.

"Proceed," Seraphina nodded.

"I'm sure you heard about these … 'murders' on your elementals."

"I have," she interrupted. "That's why these three haven't been allowed to leave the treehouse. And I knew Jack would be safe with you four."

"But we're still worried for Jack's safety," Tooth explained, flying forward cautiously. "Is there any way this could be Pitch? Looking for revenge against you or Jack in some way?"

"No, my woodland animals in Burgess have kept an eye on his lair," Seraphina replied, shaking her head. "They've been watching all entrances, even the secret ones he thinks nobody knows about. The moment he would've left, I would've been warned."

"Do you have _any_ idea as to who could be doing this?" Bunny asked, now a little more worried than before. Pitch, they could handle. But a new spirit? That put them back at square one, with so much at stake.

Seraphina turned back towards the book she left opened on the table. "I visited all of the places, investigated the best I could. What I've determined so far is this: whoever is doing this has to very _dark_ , very _ancient_ magic that can take up to thousands of years to master. If I can just figure out what that magic is, I can figure out who has the capability to produce it and how to stop them."

"If I may, Mum," Daisy spoke up. "But I didn't think any magic existed that could actually _kill immortals_. We're immortal for a reason."

"You're an elemental," Seraphina corrected her. "It's a different type of immortal." Then her eyes lit up. "Of course!" She turned to Chris. "Eleventh floor, fifteenth shelf, tenth book. Now."

"Mum?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow as Christ shot up into the air. "What's going on in your mind?"

"Daisy made me realize something," she said, madly flipping through the pages as soon as Chris handed the book to her. "It's should've been so obvious in the first place. The elementals are being _killed_. There's only one way that's possible." She set the book down on the nearby table and everyone gathered around to look. "The Elemental's Curse."

"The what?" Bunny questioned.

"It's a very ancient form of dark magic," Seraphina summarized as she skimmed the page. "Created before the Man in the Moon himself was even born and dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. There are two things required for this curse: a black heart and knowledge."

"Knowledge of what?" Alex asked.

Seraphina began to pace as North and Bunny continued to study the page; everyone else watched the nature spirit in worry. "All elementals were once mortal human beings. They become elementals because their former lives were ended tragically because of something of nature." She turned back to the group. "Anil died in the Sahara from dehydration and starvation. Topaz ate poisonous berries in the Ozark Mountains. And Naida …" Seraphina stopped. "Naida didn't die in Asia, though."

"She was burned!" Tooth realized in horror.

"Then she must've died in a natural fire," Seraphina confirmed sadly. "The knowledge is of how an elemental died as a human. That is the only thing, combined with the curse, that will kill them once and for all."

"Who would want to do this?" North thought aloud.

"I have no idea," Seraphina shrugged. "But if we don't find out soon, we going to have more chaos on our hands."


	4. Geimhreadh

Jack, for the tenth time in the past five minutes, sighed. This earned him glares from Chris and Alex, but Jack was too bored beyond belief to care. They had all gathered back at the North Pole in the Globe Room, and none of the four siblings were allowed to leave said room. There were only so many unsuspecting elves he could freeze before he wasn't entertained anymore, and no one else seemed in the mood for some fun, given the circumstances.

North was busying himself by going back and forth to researching books his yetis pulled from his own library to barking orders for toy preparation. Tooth was helping her fairies keep everything organized, every once in awhile looking over at the four siblings to assure herself they were still okay. Sandy was at the window, sending out trail after trail of his dreamsand to the children of the world.

Bunny, however, was starting to tune everything out and zone off in deep thought. And Jack was at the center of those thoughts.

He thought about the first time he ever met Jack - Easter Blizzard of '68 - and all of the mean things he'd ever said to the elemental, how quickly he let Jack go during that dreadful Easter during the battle with Pitch. He regretted hurting Jack like that.

And now Jack's life was in jeopardy. An elemental murderer was on the loose, and there was no use denying that he would come for Jack sooner or later. But when he did, Bunny would be there, ready and prepared to protect the winter sprite that had nestled a place into his heart.

What the other Guardians didn't know is that Bunny could feel every single person's hope. When people lost hope, it physically hurt him. Jack losing the last bit of his hope that Easter when they turned him away was what turned Bunny into his small, helpless form. Jack was an immortal child - he would never grow up. This made his hope - his belief - stronger than any other child in the world. Bunny himself didn't realize how essential Jack's belief was until Jamie was the only one left that believed in them.

Bunny was pulled back from his thoughts with Jack's voice.

"You alright there, Cottontail?"

Bunny smirked, seeing Jack leaning on his staff, also smirking. "Course, Frostbite."

His siblings chuckled at the nickname, and he turned to give them a glare. Bunny then turned to Mother Nature. "May we speak in private?"

"Sure," she answered. She gave him a questioning look as they went into the hallway. Bunny closed the door behind them after making sure no one was listening in on them. "What's this about, Aster?"

Bunny sighed. "You know I'm not one to share my emotions." She nodded. "But, ever since Jack joined us, we Guardians have become a family of sorts. Jack's our baby now. I'm scared for him; I'd never forgive myself if something happen to him."

"He's got you and the other Guardians," Seraphina assured him, taking one of his big, fuzzy paws into both of her hands. "He got his brothers, sister, and me. Jack will be ok. I promise you that, Aster. He's my baby boy, too, don't forget. I won't let anything happen to him."

Bunny smiled. He felt his own hope grow just a little more.


	5. Zima

Jack Frost, the Guardian of _Fun_ , was bored once again. The elves were hiding from him and the yetis weren't in the mood for a game of tag. His siblings and mother had gone back to the Treehouse Palace to try and find out if there was a way to protect elementals from the curse in the large library. And the Guardians forbade Jack from even going anywhere on his own within the workshop.

So here he sat, in North's private office, watching North carve new toy models out of ice with a bored expression. North knew it was only a matter of time before Jack would become desperate enough to try and get out.

"Jack?" he spoke up, catching the sprite's attention. "Would you like to help me design toys?"

Jack's eyes lit up in excitement. "Really?"

"Of course," North smiled. Jack suddenly looked like a little child who had been offered the entire cookie jar on the kitchen counter. "Come, pull chair over. I'm sure you'll be natural."

Jack quickly pulled his chair over, setting his staff in between their two seats. North pulled out some papers from a nearby drawer and showed some of them to Jack. They were designs of new toys he'd really wanted to make but couldn't figure out how to bring them to life. Jack quickly took on that challenge, excitedly taking the papers and studying them.

North began to sneak peeks at Jack every few minutes, watching in curiosity as Jack twirled two of his fingers in front of him as he solely focused on the design on the paper in his other hand. Ice was forming out of thin air, slowly taking on the shape of the toy that Jack was looking at.

Not wanting to disrupt the work, North waited until Jack put down the paper and smiled at his finished work, scooting it towards North for review.

"Jack," he inquired. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"What, this?" Jack replied, taking the replica back and setting it with North's other finished models. "If I concentrate hard enough on a single image of something, I can make an exact replica of it with ice. It's not too hard, actually. The only hard thing is keeping my concentration going long enough."

"Would you mind trying it on the rest of those designs?"

"Anything I can do to help, North."

North watched for a moment as Jack began working on the second toy before turning back to the ice sculpture he was working on: a winter-themed teddy bear. He was planning on personally making this one, and only one. It was going to be Jack's present come Christmas. Of course, Santa was going to give him tons of presents, but North - who was practically his adoptive father now - was making this especially for his new-found son that he'd been wishing for his entire immortal life.

Then an idea popped into his head.

"Jack!" North practically shouted, grabbing a blank piece of paper and a pencil from nearby. Luckily, Jack had just finished the replica he'd been working on, so when he was shocked out of concentration, it didn't ruin the replica.

"What?" he asked, thinking he'd done something wrong.

"I have wonderful idea!" North continued sketching excitedly, looking up at Jack every couple of seconds in concentration. "I have found way to get you new believers!" He held the paper out to Jack. "Jack Frost statues! Look just like you, no?"

Jack looked at the paper in awe. The statue version of him was standing tall and proud, showing off his signature smirk, his hoodie decorated with all of the frost patterns, his exact pants, even his staff clutched in both hands. He was standing on a little pedestal that read _Jack Frost: Spirit of Winter & Guardian of Fun_. Jack finally let a smile slip onto his face, and he looked up at North, who was excitedly waiting for his opinion.

"You should do all five of us," Jack suggested. "Each with our own statue. And put them together in one big present."

"Brilliant idea, Jack!" North said, getting even more excited by the second. He grabbed more paper and sharpened his pencil. "I shall get to work right away! Maybe add Baby Tooth into Tooth's designs. You finish other toys."

Jack could only smile at North's excitement as he turned back to his assigned project. He moved the one he had finished over with the other completed projects and began on the next one.

* * *

It was only when North decided the designs were perfect that he turned to look at Jack. The winter sprite had finished all of the designs and was now fast asleep, head on his hands on the desk. North could only chuckle; he could've sworn Jack said it didn't take much energy to make replicas, but he did do a lot of them in the past few hours.

North carefully gathered the child into his arms and secured him; Jack didn't even budge. The elves grabbed Jack's staff and followed North down the hallway. North passed his bedroom, then stopped at the next room over. Opening the door carefully, he walked in and surveyed the room with a smile.

It was a bedroom he'd had designed especially for Jack. It perfectly represented a winter wonderland. Glass snowflakes made a chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. A desk sat in front of the single window with paper and drawing pencils. A closet door stood closed; behind its doors was an empty closet, waiting to be filled with new gifted clothes. A shelf was filled with Jack's favorite books that he'd discovered in North's library in the past year. And of course, there was a king-sized bed with tons of fluffy, white pillows to represent snow. The sheets were a sky blue.

North carefully set Jack on the bed and covered him up. He patted Jack's head and gently ruffled his hair before smiling and leaving the room to continue his duties before retiring to bed himself.

As soon as the door closed, Jack's eyes burst open. He smirked; his plan had worked. He quietly crawled out of the bed, grabbing his staff that the elves sat next to his bed, and hurried to open the window. He quickly admired the room before looking towards the bedroom door, a slight twinge of guilt bringing hesitation into his mind. Sighing, he turned and leapt from the window, letting the wind catch him and carry him out towards his destination.


	6. Gaeaf

"JACK!"

Jack's face instantly lit up at the sound of the Burgess children he loved so much. They giggled as snow landed on their noses and clapped as Jack did a somersault in the air and landed perfectly on his feet.

"Your snow day," he bowed. "For the kings and queens of Burgess!"

"Yay!" they all cheered.

They took to epic snowball fights, snowmen making, sledding, and running around until the children were beginning to be called for dinner. They gave Jack their reluctant goodbyes - Jamie gave him a breath-taking hug - before answering their parents' calls. Jack slowed the snow as he walked along the sidewalks of Burgess, watching as one by one, the bedroom lights went out and dreamsand slipped through the windows to give good dreams.

That was when he heard a child's cry.

He instantly shot into the air, heading towards the direction of the noise. Within a minute, he landed down in an alleyway, only to find it empty.

"Hello?" he called out.

"Hello … _Jack_."

Something solid hit Jack in the back of the head, hard. He collapsed to the ground, grunting in pain. The person who had struck him grabbed his staff, and Jack had to close his hand to actually process his most prized possession was now gone. Then the person grabbed the hood of his hoodie and began dragging him from the alleyway.

"Let's visit your lake, shall we?"

'Please notice I escaped,' Jack thought as he lost consciousness. 'And then scold me so that I know I lived.'

* * *

Seraphina, Daisy, Alex, and Chris walked into the Globe Room to see the four original Guardians sitting by the fire, talking about how their different jobs are going.

"Where's Jack?" Seraphina asked.

"I put him to bed hours ago," North replied, snatching up another cookie and earning a glare from Tooth. "Boy exhausted himself helping me with toys."

"You got him to _work_?" Alex gaped.

"What have you done to our brother!" Chris dramatically gasped, making everyone laugh.

Elves burst in, bringing trays of hot chocolate and cookies for the newly arrived spirits. The gladly took up the offer and found themselves all nestled together on one of the plush couches right next to fireplace. They all conversed for about half an hour before a yeti burst into the room, freaking out and yelling something so fast that even North couldn't understand him.

"Phil, you must calm down," North said, going over to his Head Yeti and placing a hand on his furry shoulder. "Now, tell me what's wrong."

The yeti relayed his message, and the jolly color drained from North's face as Phil continued to panic.

"North?" Tooth asked. "What's wrong?"

"Jack has left workshop!" North panicked, turning to his sword rack and pulling out his two favorite swords. "Room was empty and window was open! We must find him, now!"

"Where could he have gone?" Daisy asked as they all rushed for the sleigh. "He has no other homes but here and the Treehouse."

"Burgess," Bunny answered. "He'd go to Sophie and Jamie. He wouldn't want them to start worrying if he didn't visit every once in awhile."

"Then to Burgess we go," North nodded, grabbing the reigns as everyone climbed in. "Everyone prepare yourselves. We don't know what we'll find."


	7. Winter

Jack slowly became aware of his surroundings as he gained consciousness. The first thing he could process was that his heart hurt … a lot. Pain came in waves from the back of his skull, and his vision was a little blurry.

"The Prince of Winter has finally awoken," a voice spoke.

Jack slowly looked towards the direction of the voice and saw the outline of a figure. He squinted his eyes and his vision cleared up enough for Jack to see that his abductor was an older man. He wore sky blue and white robes, and he had a long, white beard. His head was covered in white hair as well, and his dark blue eyes shined with mystery.

"It took you long enough," the man grumbled. "Don't sleep often, do you? The Boogeyman give you nightmares?"

Jack frowned. "I _defeated_ the Boogeyman."

"Yes, and became a _Guardian_ ," the man sneered, drawing out the last word in disgust. "I've come to teach you a lesson, Jack Frost." The man stood up from from his seat on a nearby tree trunk and and strode over to Jack. He grabbed Jack's chin, pulling him up quite violently, causing Jack's vision to swim again. "You are not worthy enough to be a spirit, much less a Guardian."

"And who are you to say that?" Jack snapped at him.

The man laughed and pushed Jack back to the ground, whose head was still pounding too much for him to move very much. He managed to lift himself to his prop up on his elbows as the man began to pace in front of him.

"My name is Ebenezer Himesh," the man replied after a minute or two, turning to look Jack in the eyes. "I'm more commonly known as Father Winter."

"Father Winter?" Jack repeated in shock. "You're the one killing the elementals?"

"I had to perfect these new powers of mine, Jack," Ebenezer smiled, looking at his hands. "I had to perfect them for _you_." He looked up at Jack. "You're the one I've wanted to kill all along."

"Why?" Jack asked nervously as Ebenezer approached him.

"You took my place!" the old man growled. "I should be the _only_ Spirit of Winter; I should be the only one to control the season. The world doesn't need a hormonal, forever-teenage-aged boy running around with special powers over a season. What a disgrace for a Guardian of Childhood."

Jack glared at Ebenezer. "I doubt you'd be any better!"

"As if I care about children." Ebenezer's hand moved too fast for Jack to have a chance to react. His lungs instantly screamed for air as Ebenezer's hand tightened itself around Jack's throat. "Now tell me: how did you end up in this lake?"

That's when Jack realized where they were - his lake.

Panic burst through his veins and adrenaline pushed away the pain in his head. He kicked Ebenezer in the stomach, knocking him back and freeing his neck. He didn't allow himself even a moment to catch his breath before scrambling to his feet and taking off.

"Get back here!"

Jack willed himself to go faster as he heard the crunch of the snow behind him. He ran through the familiar forest, trying to escape from Ebenezer's sight. He looked over his shoulder to see Ebenezer somehow speeding up. Then Jack collided with something. He fell to the ground with a grunt and looked up to see Pitch Black smirking at him with his arms crossed; his face showed pure amusement.

"Pitch," Jack groaned in annoyance. "I don't have time to deal with you right now."

"Oh, I'm hurt, Jack."

"FROST!"

Pitch raised an eyebrow, looking up to see Ebenezer gaining on them. "Pissed off someone else now, eh Jack?"

Jack groaned, jumping up and attempting to run past Pitch, who quickly grasped the back of his hoodie, keeping him held back.

"Pitch, I'm serious!" Jack screeched, his fear showing in his voice. "Let me go!"

Ebenezer smirked as he finally caught up and stopped a little ways away from Pitch. "Well, Mr. Black, it seems you've found my prey."

Pitch looked over Ebenezer curiously. "And what prank did he pull this time, Father Winter?"

"The prank of existing," Ebenezer replied harshly. "Haven't you heard? _I'm_ the one killing the elementals. Jack was my true target this entire time."

"Jack! Where are you?"

The three spirits looked towards the direction of the voice.

"The Guardians," Pitch observed, forcing Jack to turn around and gripping his arm tightly. "Seems they've caught up to you, Ebenezer."

"Then help me get rid of the boy," Ebenezer offered, and Jack attempted to pull away from Pitch, who only held on tighter. "We can both have our revenge. After all, he denied your offer of alliance and defeated you, correct?"

"I offered him alliance because I didn't want to have to hurt my _grandson_ , Ebenezer," Pitch clarified, frowning. "You know that Seraphina is my daughter, and Jack is rightfully her son, as well as all elementals. That means you've been going around killing my grandchildren. That doesn't bode well with me."

Ebenezer narrowed his eyes. "So you're going to protect him?"

"Pitch!" Bunny growled as the Guardians, the three other siblings, and Seraphina appeared in the small clearing.

"Wait," Seraphina spoke up, raising a hand to silence Bunny. "Father. Please tell me you're not involved in this."

Pitch looked over his daughter for a moment before snapping two fingers. Two nightmare houses appeared from nowhere and stood on either side of Pitch and Jack. Pitch pushed Jack towards the horse nearest him.

"Get on." Then he aimed a rare smile towards Seraphina. "Do you imagine I'd actually let my grandson get hurt?"

"Grandson?" Bunny asked.

"Later, Aster," Seraphina said quickly. "Father Winter, you're the one doing this?"

"I did this all for your precious Jackson, Mother Nature," Ebenezer gave a sly smile as Pitch climbed onto the other house and motioned to Jack to hold the horse's mane tightly. "He took my place. I should be the _only_ Spirit of Winter. You and Manny should've known better than to create a winter spirit of a hormonal teenage boy."

"He was created for the purpose of a Guardian," Seraphina corrected him, her eyes narrowed. "Manny only asked me to make him the Spirit of Winter because of how he died."

Ebenezer's eyes hardened. "I don't care! I want him dead, and you won't stop me!"

Chunks of ice shards suddenly pierced the air, and everyone narrowly avoided them.

"Pitch," North shouted. "Get Jack out of here!"

Pitch nodded and yelled a command in a foreign language to his horses, which took off in the opposite direction of the battle.

"No!"

Ebenezer took off after the retreating figures but was stopped by one of Bunny's boomerangs barely missing his face.

"Oh no ya don't. Let's get 'im!"


	8. Vinter

The nightmare horses didn't stop until they were deep within Pitch's lair in the undergrounds of Burgess. Jack held onto his horse's mane tightly as they galloped across the rough terrain.

"Pitch!" he shouted. "He took my staff! I need my staff back!"

The horses stopped in the main room where the two spirits had their second confrontation a year ago, and Jack immediately jumped down from his horse.

"Are you even listening to me? I need my-"

"Be quiet," Pitch groaned, getting off of his horse and reaching into the darkness. Jack's eyes widened when he pulled out Jack's staff and tossed it to him. Pitch frowned seeing his face. "You still don't trust me, do you?"

"I don't care if you're my gramps or not," Jack narrowed his eyes, clutching his staff tightly. "You attacked me and the Guardians a year ago. Why should I trust you?"

"Family doesn't always get along, Jack," Pitch said as he dismissed the horses and paced around the area. "We all have our rough patches and disagreements, don't we?"

"But family doesn't normally try to kill one another."

"You heard what I told Ebenezer," Pitch replied seriously. "And I meant every word, Jack. I tried my best to keep you out of harm's way without the Guardians realizing what I was doing. I never imagined you'd get involved with anything that included the Guardians. I had never known that Manny chose you as a Guardian. No one but Seraphina did until he told the Guardians. It's why I tried to get you out of the way, or at least on my side."

"Aw, feeling the love," Jack smirked.

"Shut up."

* * *

Pitch found himself hours later in the Globe Room at the North Pole, nursing some eggnog as North recalled his days of being a bandit to Pitch, which Pitch found most amusing. He looked around the room to see Sandy putting Jack to sleep with a dreamsand story, with his head on Tooth's lap, who ran her hands through Jack's hair happily. Baby Tooth had cuddled herself into Jack's hoodie, hugging his ear. Bunny kept himself warm by the fireplace, sneaking cookies from a nearby tray when Tooth was distracted.

"And the time the lads and I tried to get to Atlanta!" North bellowed, catching Pitch's attention again. "Kept a note to myself afterwards: burly Russian thieves cannot craft water-breathing potions." That brought a chuckle to Pitch's lips, causing North to smile. "Pitch, I must thank you. You helped save Jack, even after everything that happened last year."

"He's my grandson, North," Pitch reminded him. "Why do you think I focused practically everything on Jack? I was trying to get him out of the fight so I wouldn't have to hurt him. But breaking his staff and throwing him into that cavern? I let the pure rage of betrayal take over, and Jack had no idea of the true reason. It never occurred to me Manny had created him a Guardian; Seraphina never told me he was a child of both. It hasn't happened in centuries."

"Jack's not the only one?" North asked.

Pitch nodded. "A young English girl, if I remember correctly. Her name was Johanna. She mostly kept ground England during the Black Plague, trying to keep the children, both healthy and ill, happy and enthusiastic. In 1355, when the plague finally disappeared, she disappeared along with it. We never found her."

North thought deeply before noticing something behind Pitch. "Ah, Seraphina. Didn't expect to see you so soon."

Pitch turned to see his daughter and the three other seasonal elementals walk into the Globe Room. Seraphina smirked at her father.

"I never thought I'd ever see my father drinking eggnog with Santa Claus."

"They kidnapped me," he defended himself. "How is Ebenezer?"

"Knocked out in his cell in the dungeons," Seraphina shrugged. "The bear guards got tired of listening to him yell."

Bunny chuckled, getting up from his chair and nodding his head towards Pitch. "So you're never going to try and take over again?"

"That wouldn't be any fun, would it?" Pitch joked.

"Admit it, gramps," a voice joined in. Everyone focused their attention on a smirking Jack, now sitting up. "You love us."

"Oh, go back to sleep, you annoying brat."


	9. Hiems

"Ebenezer Himesh, entitled Father Winter," Manny stood at the end of the room, looking hardly at the restrained spirit. He looked to the Guardians, Pitch, and the four main elementals, who stood at the side of the room, waiting patiently. On his right side, Seraphina stood with a stern look on her face, filled with anger and hate towards the questioned spirit. On his left side, Attai, Father Time, stood tall, his eyes filled with disappointment.

Manny turned back to Ebenezer and took a deep, quiet breath before continuing. "You have been charged with the murder of four elemental spirits of Mother Nature and the attempted murder of Jack Frost: a Guardian of Fun, a Winter Elemental of Mother Nature, and a Moon Child of mine. I hereby banish you to Pluto for the rest of eternity as your punishment."

Ebenezer rolled his eyes. "I'll find a way back. And once I do, Jack Frost is as good as dead."

Bunny growled, but Tooth slipped her hand into his big paw to calm him.

"You will be escorted to Pluto and guarded by two of my moonbeams," Manny added. "You will never see Earth again, Ebenezer. Murdering elementals is bad enough because it ruins the balance of nature, but trying to murder a Guardian? I should be sentencing you to final death."

He turned to two of Mother Nature's bear guards that stood tall on the other side of the room. "Please prepare him for his trip. My two moonbeams will come to retrieve him tonight." The bears nodded and took Ebenezer from the room, who finally went quietly.

Manny went over to the Guardians and looked at Jack. "How are you doing, my son?"

"I've had worse days," Jack smiled. "Thank you. For everything."

"Come," Manny said, motioning Jack to follow him. "There's something I wish to show you."

After Jack promised to come find the Guardians and his mother afterwards, he rushed after Manny, who led him through the palace and to the balcony, where Jack could overlook space and see the entirety of Earth.

"Wow," Jack smiled, setting his staff by the door and joining Manny by his side. "You can really see everything up here, can't you? Don't you get lonely?"

"No," Manny smiled. "Spirits of people who have died stay with me until they're ready to move on to what's next. And there's one spirit in particular who has refused to move on until she got to see you."

"Me?" Jack asked in confusion.

"Jack?"

Jack turned to see an elderly woman come out onto the balcony. Her long, grey hair was vibrant and her brown eyes, though faded with age, still shined with the energy Jack remembered from when he was alive.

"Emma?"

"How are you, brother?"

Jack rushed forward and took his sister into a hug. "Wow, you lived a long life, didn't you?"

"Thanks to you," Emma chuckled. "Do you remember Mrs. Johnson's boy, Henry?"

"Is that who you married?" Jack's eyes widened. "Oh, but he was so annoying!"

"His dad died the year after you did, so we grieved together," Emma shrugged. "He grew up after his dad died."

"Kids?" Jack asked.

"Two," Emma smiled. "Jackson and Anna."

Jack's face brightened. "You named your son after me?"

"Henry encouraged it," Emma smiled. "He felt you deserved to live on. And goodness, you would've thought Jackson grew up with you as an influence. He was just like you throughout his entire life."

Jack smiled wide. "It's so good to see you, Emma."

"I couldn't go on without seeing you one more time," Emma said, taking Jack's hands into her fragile ones. "I made Manny promise. And he kept it." She looked past Jack to the smiling moon spirit. "Thank you."

She turned to Jack. "But I won't be gone forever. In fact, I'll always be back on Earth with you." Jack's eyebrow raised in confusion. Emma chuckled. "Manny did something incredible, Jack."

"Yes," Manny spoke up, placing a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Part of her spirit will always remain in your favorite mini tooth fairy. What did you name her again?"

"Baby Tooth?" Jack asked in shock.

"Ah, yes," Manny continued. "It's the reason Baby Tooth has two different colored eyes and that little spot on her face. She'll always be there to remind you of your sister, even if she doesn't realize part of your sister is in her."

"Thank you," Jack smiled. He turned to his sister. "Tell Mom and Dad I love them, will you?"

"I can't wait to tell them what you've done, Jack," she promised. "They'll be so proud, I know it."

Jack smiled and held back tears as he hugged his sister one last time, tightly. They whispered "I love you"s for several minutes, before they finally broke apart and Manny led Jack back to the Guardians. He instantly pulled Baby Tooth into his arms and held her tightly. Though confused, Baby Tooth lathered herself in Jack's attention, to which the Guardians, Pitch, and Seraphina laughed.

* * *

"HEY, GRANDPA!"

Pitch groaned as his wintery grandchild zoomed into his lair, landing elegantly on one of the many bridges towering throughout the room. Pitch slowly turned to Jack with a completely unamused face.

"Aw, come on," Jack chuckled, skipping around the place as the nightmare horses watched him, very amused. "How did such a grumpy guy get such happy grandchildren?"

"I have no idea," Pitch groaned, rolling his eyes.

That made Jack laugh, leaping into the air and shooting out a ball out snow, which exploded to create a flurry of snow throughout the entire lair. Jack then shot through the entrance to the lair and shot off towards the North Pole.

"JACKSON!"

In the shadows, Seraphina revealed herself, giggling herself silly. Pitch turned to her with a very annoyed face as she stepped out, smiling wide.

"Did you tell him to do that?" Pitch questioned.

"Don't blame me," Seraphina chuckled, leaning against the wall. "He's just as rowdy as his father."

Pitch groaned once more, stalking from the room and ignoring his daughter's sweet laughter following behind.


End file.
